Oliver McTernan and Jordan Morgan participate in the "Muslims in the West: Realities and Aspirations” Symposium hosted by the Assilah Forum Foundation, in Assilah, Morocco, 17-19th July 2017

Between the 17-19th July 2017, Oliver McTernan, Director and Co Founder of Forward Thinking, and Jordan Morgan, UK Programme Manager, were invited by H.E. Mr. Mohamed Benaïssa, Secretary General of the Assilah Forum Foundation, and former Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, to  speak at the  "Muslims in the West: Realities and Aspirations” Symposium in Assilah, Morocco.The conference brought together academics, legal professionals, political analysts, researchers, writers, and journalists from across the world and aimed to explore the socio- economic, legal and political challenges and opportunities facing Muslim expatriate communities in the West.Panellists shared their experiences working with communities and deepened the understanding of the changing demographic make up of Muslims communities, issues of integration and violent extremism within Muslim expatriate communities in the West.Discussions also focused on Forward Thinking's extensive work with the UK's diverse Muslim communities over the last 12 years. The symposium was also a chance to present the findings and insights from Forward Thinking's most recent report, entitled 'Community Roundtables: A report on the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester',  to prompt greater debate at a time when the question of how to respond to challenge of terrorism is more pertinent than ever.